German chemical giant Bayer has revealed that its pension scheme has achieved its highest returns in two decades.

The German version of Citywire is reporting that the firm has seen a return on capital stock of 6.2 per cent, its highest return since 2005. This comes, said the news service, after losses in 2023. According to fund’s own financial results, it saw a loss of 4.8 per cent in 2022, following increases of 5.7 per cent, 3.2 per cent, and 4.8 per cent in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

In summarising its own report, Bayer wrote of the significant turbulence of 2023, citing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the pressure on the German government’s budget, ruling by the federal court, and conflicts beginning across the Middle East region. It also cited the current economic weakness of Germany while saying that recent union moves to support older workers were also likely to impact the pension fund.

Breaking down the financials, the Bayer Pension Fund said that the amount of assets it held after disbursements rose for €9.46bn to €9.74bn between 2022 and 2023. In addition, it said that its investments in mutual funds had decreased by €125m over that time, along with its cash holdings (€675m to €112m).

At the end of the year, Bayer said that its near-€4bn of investment fund assets were split into 22 per cent mandates on European standard equities, 26 per cent passive mandates on global equities, 36 per cent investment grade fixed income securities focus on the Euro, and 15 per cent emerging market government bonds.

Curiously, the statistics show a marked decline in the number of members since 2019. From 96,583 in that year, the number fell to 95,014 in 2020, 93,357 in 2021, and 91,461 in 2022. In 2023, the number dipped below 90,000, reaching 89,744. Meanwhile, the number of pension recipients over those five years has increased by 1,340 although recent years has seen that number hover steadily at around 57,000.

The fund, which is the largest company pension plan in Germany, says that its investment strategy is aligned with the risk structure of its obligations and based on a risk-controlled and risk-budgeted approach.

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